American Genius

From the producers of the multiple-award-winning miniseries "The Men Who Built America," National Geographic Channel chronicles competitions in innovation that pit history's brightest minds in the race to lay claim to the future. For them, the greatest challenge wasn't beating the odds -- it was beating their adversaries. From Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates to William Hurst vs. Joseph Pulitzer, each hourlong episode focuses on a specific rivalry, delving into fierce power struggles, deceit, fluke timing and raw ambition out of which great ideas turned into reality. The conflicts play out through re-enactments that feature interviews with modern-day visionaries like Bill Nye, Steve Wozniak, Jack Welch, Steve Wynn and Michio Kaku.

Latest episodes

aired 546 days ago

Insight into the heated rivalry between the Wright brothers and Glenn Curtiss in the race for flight that laid the groundwork for modern aviation.

aired 547 days ago

The struggle between America and the Soviet Union in a race to conquer the moon; a competition that resulted in brilliant feats of engineering and unparalleled technological advancements.

aired 554 days ago

A look at the battle between inventors Bill Gates and Steve Jobs to dominate a new age and bring the personal computer to all.

aired 568 days ago

The newspaper's rise to prominence was born out of a bitter rivalry between publishers William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, who changed the media world by pushing journalism to the limits, compromising in order to keep their empires afloat.

aired 569 days ago

The gritty competition between American inventors David Sarnoff and Philo Farnsworth, the results of which forever changed the world of media.

aired 575 days ago

Physicists Werner Heisenberg and Robert Oppenheimer strive to harness the laws of physics in order to create the most powerful weapon the world has ever seen, the atomic bomb.

aired 589 days ago

Inventors Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison compete to harness the power of electric current in a war that would determine who would power the world's future.

aired 596 days ago

American inventors Samuel Colt and Daniel Wesson race to create the perfect revolver, resulting in patents that would revolutionize the firearm industry and change how wars are fought.

How did we get here? How did humankind evolve from apes swinging in trees to astronauts walking on the moon? National Geographic's eight-part time-travel adventure series delves deep into history to highlight pivotal "origin" moments that fundamentally and irrevocably created modern living. Host Jason Silva ("Brain Games") guides viewers through a dazzling audio-visual portal to explore these events, such as the discoveries and applications of fire, medicine, money and transportation, while experts across each field inject commentary. The series also incorporates scripted storytelling and documentary sequences.

Oscar winners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer put their storytelling acumen to work as executive producers of "Breakthrough," a series of hourlong documentaries highlighting the stories, people, and technology behind the world's most cutting-edge scientific innovations. After considering more than 100 scientific topics for the series, the pair -- helped by National Geographic archives and research, along with the scientific resources of partner GE -- selected biotechnology, neuroscience, anti-aging technology, alternative energy, water conservation, and global pandemics. Each episode is directed by a prominent Hollywood star -- Howard himself helms "The Age of Aging," joining actors Angela Bassett ("Water Apocalypse") and Paul Giamatti ("More Than Human"), directors Peter Berg ("Fighting Pandemics") and Brett Ratner ("Decoding the Brain"), and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman ("Energy From the Edge").

Actor Kal Penn is producer/host of a series that attempts to explain how things like money, sex, food, sports and crime influence daily lives. The consequences are shown by analyzing data maps, and episodes investigate different themes through data mapping, creative visualization of information and in-depth personal stories involving fascinating characters. As well, documentary vignettes tell stories that personalize the number crunching, introducing real people who live and work at key intersections of each theme being explored. Penn serves as guide, making the information relatable to viewers.

The 1990s had remarkable highs and lows: Technology paved the way for a digital world, and the ranks of billionaires grew fast. But the Columbine massacre, al-Qaida threat, and Clinton scandals also happened. On the heels of its popular miniseries deconstructing the 1980s, National Geographic Channel delves into 10 years when the Web was wide open but before global terror hit hard. "The '90s: The Last Great Decade?" features 120 original interviews -- from unsung heroes of riveting stories, to notables in many fields -- and memorable clips of a time between the end of the Cold War and the approaching War on Terror.

From the award-winning team of filmmaker Darren Aronofsky ("Black Swan") and producer Jane Root ("America the Story of Us"), this 10-part cinematic event series explores the fragility and wonder of planet Earth -- one of the most peculiar, unique places in the universe. Host Will Smith guides viewers on an unprecedented exploration, bolstered by an elite group of eight astronauts who provide unique perspectives and relate personal memoirs of the planet seen from a distance. Hourlong episodes delve into monumental events such as genesis, cosmic violence, human intelligence and alien life, oxygen, and survival vs. destruction.

The old Dolly Parton hit "9 to 5" isn't a tune worth humming for the blue-collar pioneers featured in "Filthy Riches." The series spotlights ingenious Americans who skirt a conventional workplace in favor of making a living in the deep rivers, soggy mud flats and wild backwoods of the U.S. Ray Turner, for example, has been catching eels in Delaware for 30 years. He uses a self-made smokehouse in the woods to cook the critters and sell them. Billy Taylor and his sons hunt for prized ginseng root in the Appalachians. Taylor, a fully licensed wild ginseng dealer, promotes sustainability by planting its berries. In Maine, Jim Campbell and Andy Johns make the coastal mud flats their office, as they dig for valuable bloodworms to sell to fishermen. And Greg Dahl and Albert DeSilva are burl hunters. A burl is a hard, unwieldy outgrowth on a tree, usually at the trunk. Burls have value because of the spectacular patterns found in them when cut open.

"Naked Science" strips away the layers of a scientific investigation into one of the big mysteries of our time, revealing through expert analysis realistic scenarios that either confirm or deny long-held assumptions and misconceptions.

Duct tape won't do the job when it comes to the repairs featured in this series, an inside look at what happens when big industry breaks down. Host Sean Riley, a professional rigger with a passion for adventure, is on the scene as each one-hour episode depicts him working with some of the world's top mechanics making heavy-duty industrial repairs.